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Title: Need to revise Railway’s Catering Policy of 2005 with a view to protect the interests of small vendors in reserved categories.
SHRI PRABODH PANDA (MIDNAPORE): Sir, I would like to draw the attention of the Government, particularly the Railway Ministry, to the miserable plight of the tens of thousands of small Railway Catering licensees.
It was the assurance given by the Railway Ministry that small catering/vending unit, trolleys, stalls, all these, operated by reserved category would continue and they will not be affected by the new catering policy. But the orders have been issued by IRCTC to recover licence fee from such small categories at the rate of highest tender/bid at the stations all over the country.[r88]
So, the point is this. How the small contractors and vendors belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, minority groups, freedom fighters and war widows can compete with the big contractors? How can they pay this huge license fee? I think, the Ministry will have to think over it and review its Catering Policy.
Therefore, I urge upon the Government to have a re-look on the New Catering Policy of 2005 and implement it on the line of the entire policy of 2000, to save the thousands of families of these small vendors. So, I bring this issue to the notice before the Ministry.